Gulliver and three other foals were bound for slaughter and could have ended up on a plate in Europe or Japan. Instead they grew up in the shadow of the Santa Rita Mountains on Jumpin’ Jack Ranch in Amado, home of Equine Voices Rescue & Sanctuary.

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Karen Pomroy founded the nonprofit organization in 2004 to rescue horses from mistreatment on farms that supply the pharmaceutical industry, she said. With help from staff and volunteers, she has rescued some 300 horses.

Equine Voices will hold an open house from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, to raise awareness about abused horses and funds for their care. Visitors can watch horses in training, shop for local art and jewelry, and learn how they can help. For directions to the ranch, call Carrie at (520) 398-9312.

The mares and foals are victims of the Premarin industry, Pomroy said. A pregnant mare produces conjugated estrogens in her urine, which is collected to produce Premarin, a drug widely prescribed to treat menopause and osteoporosis. The name is derived from Pregnant Mare’s Urine or PMU.

Confined

While pregnant, the mare is confined for six months in a stall too small for her to lie down, Pomroy said. A rubber collection cup is secured to her urethra and she is given limited water to drink so her urine will be concentrated.

Shortly after she gives birth, the mare is bred again. In a couple of months, her foal is shipped off to an auction, Pomroy said. Many end up at slaughterhouses and so do the mares when they become too old to give birth.

Pomroy was living in Santa Maria, Calif., and working with a wild horse sanctuary when she searched online and found PMU foals to bring to the ranch in Arizona, she said. “I was just going to rescue one PMU baby (in North Dakota) and I ended up with four.”

One was Gulliver, a tan Clydesdale (draft horse) mix. Now 6, he is the mascot for Equine Voices and in training to be a riding horse.

“All these (40) horses you see here were going to slaughter,” Pomroy said.

Premarin is distributed by Wyeth-Ayerst in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, and nearly all the PMU farms are located in the prairie provinces. During the 1980s, 48,000 mares were urinating for the pharmaceutical industry, Pomroy said. Now the number has dwindled to 5,600.

In 2002, a large-scale study by the Women’s Health Initiative revealed that women on hormone replacement therapy ran a higher risk of heart disease, blood clots, and breast and uterine cancer. Sales of Premarin plummeted and many women sought natural alternatives, Pomroy said.

“Women are finding out where the drug comes from �“ how the horses are being treated and the side effects for them,” she said.

On the farms

On the PMU farms, horses are halter-broke, but not taught to move away from pressure, Pomroy said. Often, they shy away from human touch. Trainer Carol Grubb of Tucson has spent countless hours working with the horses. Many will be adopted.

It’s expensive to keep a horse and provide care for its lifetime, Pomroy said. In hard times, some desperate owners send their horses to auction and hope they will find a new home.

“A good percentage end up in the hands of a killer-buyer,” Pomroy said. From there, the horses endure a cramped ride in a trailer to a slaughterhouse in Mexico and an inhumane end.

“My heart is with the PMU horses,” Pomroy said. But she has begun to rescue abused horses in Arizona.

Some were used to haul drugs from Mexico and then abandoned, Pomroy said. “I go to auctions, bid on them, bring them here and rehab them.”

Smokey Joe was emaciated with hooves so overgrown he looked as if he was wearing clog shoes, she said. A caretaker in Marana neglected the 18-year-old gelding for a year and a half while the owner was away, Pomroy said.

Saving grace

This summer, Pomroy bought a mare with a broken leg that was on her way to a slaughterhouse, she said. A veterinarian set the leg and the mare is recuperating.

Another redeemed mare is Kachina, an Appaloosa whose owner reportedly dragged her behind a truck and beat her on the head in Florence in August 2008. When the owner was found not guilty, Pomroy contacted his attorney and bought Kachina for $1,000.

“In a lot of cases, the horse is misunderstood,” she said.

It costs about $15,000 a month to operate the ranch and rescue effort, Pomroy said. She and her staff depend on help from some 100 volunteers. Supporters can sponsor a rescued horse or contribute $10 a month to help buy hay.

For more information and directions, visit www.equinevoices.org.